Henrico's ACE Center project gets a $25,000 donation; Henrico Schools proposes new 'bell-to-bell' phone ban
Happy Easter weekend!
Construction company Kokosing has donated $25,000 to support the student-led renovation of the Hermitage High School ACE Center’s top floor. The Henrico School Board is considering implementing a phone ban for the entire school day, meaning that students would have to keep their phones away during lunch and in-between classes.
Kokosing gives $25,000 to ACE Center
Kokosing, a family-owned construction company in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, has donated $25,000 to Henrico County Public Schools to support the student-involved renovation of the second floor of the ACE Center at Hermitage High School.
Company officials made the presentation April 7.
“When we heard that students would be working alongside building trades professionals to outfit the space, we knew we wanted to be involved,” said Michael Higgins, Kokosing’s workforce development manager.
HCPS considering school day phone ban
Henrico Schools officials are proposing a change to the Code of Student Conduct that would require middle and high school students to keep their cell phones tucked away, either in their backpacks or division storage containers, for the entire school day.
The division’s current cell phone policy requires middle- and high-schoolers to put their phones away during classes but not in-between classes or during lunch. HCPS has not made changes to the elementary school policy, which requires students in grades K-5 to put phones and other devices away for the school day, but a change to the corresponding consequences would ban an elementary student from bringing their phone to school upon the fifth offense.
'A symbol of hope'
Hundreds of handcrafted paper and ceramic butterflies will decorate the walls of local Bon Secours hospitals, some made by Henrico students, in support of Noah’s Children, a hospice program for children with life-threatening illnesses.
As Central Virginia’s only pediatric palliative care program, Noah’s Children serves about 300 Richmond-area families. Each year, local schools help fundraise thousands of dollars for the program through a student-made art project, with Henrico students participating since 1997.
This year saw a record number of 21 local schools come together for the project – a colorful butterfly-themed glass window and hundreds of individual butterflies made from paper, wire, fabric, and ceramic.
Congressional App Challenge winners
U.S. Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) recently welcomed the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge for Virginia’s First District to Capitol Hill and congratulated them in person for their achievement.
The winning app, Fintelligent, was developed by Deep Run High School students Aleksander Kurgan, Richard John, Kartikeya Jain, and Tom Cech.
Earlier in the day, the students were recognized at the national #HouseOfCode event, at which top winners from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C. to showcase their apps, meet with tech industry leaders, and engage with lawmakers.
Photo of the week
Make way for ducklings! A mama duck and her ducklings were spotted at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden — right across from the Citizen’s office! (@lewisginter)
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